State Buys Wetlands with Oil Spill Settlement Funds

The state has acquired more than 11,000 acres of wetlands in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes as part of a conservation project funded by a settlement over the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana said Monday that the $6.7 million purchase of the forested wetlands on the north shore of Lake Maurepas is funded by MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC, which was a minority partner in BP's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico.

MOEX agreed last year to pay $90 million in a settlement with the federal government and Gulf states over the massive 2010 oil spill.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will manage the property as part of its existing Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area.